Armor King (アーマー・キング,Āmā Kingu?) is a title that two characters have taken in the Tekken series. Even though there have been two characters who have taken the name, each is simply called Armor King in their respective games, though a numerical value is sometimes given to them to separate them as different characters, similar to King.

Contents

Biography

Armor King is the older brother of Armor King II, both of whom are luchadores who fought together as a tag team. Armor King also traveled in search of worthy opponents to face one-on-one, and it was on one of these excursions that he came across another wrestler in a jaguar mask, who went by the similar title of "King". Intrigued, Armor King went head-to-head with King in a fierce battle, which he ultimately lost after sustaining an eye injury. Embittered by his loss and the future success of King, a rivalry developed between the two. When Armor King came to notice the King of Iron Fist Tournament, a mixed martial arts contest in which his rival was participating, hoping to raise funds for the orphanage he ran, he too entered, determined to settle the score. While Armor King would go on to lose a second time, the two went on to become friends and sparring partners, and their rivalry became more friendly.

While he was able to defeat his old rival, King did not win the tournament, instead placing third. Without the prize money from the tournament, King's orphanage struggled financially, leading the despairing King to turn to alcohol. As King's behavior grew more erratic, a worried Armor King convinced his old friend and rival to resume training for a second tournament. They both entered, and once again fought as rivals, although neither was successful in winning the tournament.

Sometime after the second tournament, King was attacked and killed by Ogre, the god of fighting, leading Armor King to sink into a state of depression at the loss of his friend. When he learned of a new King, Armor King sought him out and helped him train for a third King of Iron Fist tournament, where King II would fight to honor his predecessors name.

At a later date, Armor King is drinking in a bar in Arizona when a burly Vale Tudo fighter starts bragging about his skills. A fight erupts, and Armor King's fighting spirit leads him to confront the man. They fight, and Armor King, weakened by a heart condition, turns out to be no match for this formidable foe; they clash, and Armor King is attacked and killed by his opponent.

Personality

While having a fierce fighting spirit, never backing down from a fight and doggedly persuing his rivals, Armor King has a warm heart, sharing a close bond with his brother and willing to put aside rivalries in favor of friendship. Armor King is also a sociable person and enjoys liquor, particularly when celebrating victories with his young protege, King II.

Appearance

Armor King is a tall, muscular figure with tanned skin who always keeps his identity hidden behind his trademark jaguar mask. Unlike King, who wears a realistic jaguar mask, Armor King wears a black mask with one green eye and a scarred red eye, mirroring his injury, and more prominent fangs. However, there is one occasion when Armor King is seen without his mask; this occurs in King II's Tekken 3 ending. While his face is not seen, he is revealed to have shoulder length black hair.

Outfits

As his name implies, Armor King is usually seen wearing armor, which consists of a breast plate, pauldrons, gauntlets and boots, over a top and pants, which are colored either black or blue. On a few occasions, Armor King is seen without his armor, instead fighting topless, exposing his tanned skin.

Story

Character Profile Story: "Armor King is a rival from a time when King was but a rookie.

King accidentally crushed one of Armor King's eyes during a match some time ago. Since then, King became a star of the Professional Mexican Wrestling World, basking in the spotlight; conversely, Armor King's handicap quickly sped him in the opposite direction.

Armor King has joined the tournament to destroy King and to take control of the Professional Wrestling World."[2]

Armor King entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament to face his old enemy and rival, King. The two had an intense battle, with King winning the fight, leaving Armor King to bow out of the tournament. After the tournament, the two would go on to put aside their differences and become friends.

Character Profile Story: "The King of Underground Professional World Wrestling.

Armor King and King desperately fought one another in the past, but now they're bound together by a powerful friendship that only a comrade would know.

Worried about the dead-end lifestyle his former adversary had drank himself into, Armor King tells King of the tournament Kazuya Mishima is sponsoring, thinking this is King's ticket out of despair.

The King of Underground Professional World Wrestling looks forward to his rematch with King."[2][3]

After the events of The King of Iron Fist Tournament, Armor King disappeared from the professional fighting world. However, he would have his limelight in the underground rings. After some time, Armor King heard news from the orphanage that King had gone missing because of financial difficulties and a child's death in his care. Worried about his old friend, he went out in search of him and found him in an alleyway, mentally broken. He gave his rival his jaguar mask and convinced him to get back into the fighting spirit just in time for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2.

Tekken 2 Armor King Ending

Ending Description, "Locker Room": Chest X-rays and an EKG waveform, accompanied by the beep of a heart monitor, set to the sound of a rapidly ticking clock (hinting that he has a heart condition), appear before the scene cuts to Armor King sitting on a bench in a locker room. Getting ready for his wrestling match, he stands up and heads for the ring, only for his vision to go blurry, causing him to stumble, blood running from his damaged eye. He then stands upright and walks into the ring, much to the excitement of the crowd.

Sometime surrounding the events of Tekken 3, Ogre attacked many fighters around the world, including King I, who was murdered by this unknown creature. A young orphan, upon hearing news of his mentor's death, donned King's jaguar mask and imitated his style under the King name in order to continue supporting the orphanage financially.
However, the new King was not on the same level as his mentor, and repeatedly lost every competition he entered.
Out of respect for his dead friend, Armor King visited the new King, introducing himself as an old friend. He decided to train this new King, who would become King II. King II then entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 to test his skills.

In King II's ending, he was watching his protege fight well in the ring. After he gives him the go-sign to finish the fight, he left the match to return to the locker room. King II hurriedly ran there, only to find Armor King sullenly thinking about his disease and about his dead friend (King II's success was reminiscent of King I's greatness).

Before The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, Craig Marduk started a bar brawl in Arizona, and Armor King was killed. King II entered the tournament in the hopes that he would beat Marduk in defense of his now dead master. King II payed for Marduk's release from prison, and waited for Marduk at the tournament.

In King II's ending, King II was ready to deliver a finishing blow to Marduk, only to realize that revenge is not the answer when he notices a photo of Marduk's family on a table beside him.

Other Appearances

Armor King I appeared as a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament.King II is his sub-boss by default and Ancient Ogre is his sub-boss if unlocked.

Tekken Tag Tournament Armor King Ending

Ending Description: Armor King is seen sparring with King. Armor King effortlessly blocks and counters all of King's attacks, landing some powerful strikes and grapples. King then admits defeat, dropping to the floor and pounding the ground in frustration as Armor King stands watching, his arms folded. This ending takes place in King's stage.

Armor King appeared in Namco x Capcom as both an enemy unit and playable character. This was Armor King's last appearance.

Gameplay

Armor King was something of a King "clone character", although he differed by having some slightly different button inputs and gaining some Mishima-style moves in his moveset, most noticeably the Dragon Uppercut and the Wind God Fist. These moves replaced some of King's more complex chain-throws and 10 Hit Combo's, giving Armor King a more offensive fighting style compared to King's, which favored more defensive play. These changes make Armor King a more accessible and beginner friendly character than King, and arguably a better character choice for players who prefer to apply pressure to their opponents.

Fighting Style

Armor King uses Pro Wrestling. Unlike King, his fighting style is more oriented towards the "shoot" style, which has more of an emphasis on strikes as opposed to holds.

Trivia

Armor King was originally called Black King prior to production of the first Tekken.

While he puts in cameo appearances, Armor King is not a playable character in Tekken 3, 4 or 5.

Armor King is the only unlockable character in Tekken 2 who appears in the opening movie outside of the brief appearance at Kazuya’s fortress, as he also appeared physically in the scene where King I is in the alley broken and drunk.

Armor King is one of the three playable characters from the two first games (not counting Kazuya and Jun due to their significance in the story) who appears as an NPC in a cutscene in Tekken 3, the other two being Marshall Law and Michelle Chang (the latter only appeared in Julia’s ending).